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The Setanta Africa Sports
Network was born out of many years of providing sport to both national and
private broadcasters on an ad hoc basis by both individuals, agents and
companies like the LiM Group. The Irish broadcaster, together with a group
of individuals who had been working in the African sports television market
for over 30 years, recognised the need for a "free to air" viewing platform
for the people of the African continent who are unable to subscribe to DTH
pay viewing.
Since it's birth in as
a sports content provider to terrestrial broadcasters, the Network has grown
not only in popularity but also in continent. What started primarily as a
Premier League Club channel with Manchester Utd and Chelsea as it's core
programming content has now grown into a fully fledged sports channel. The
Network has now included both Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic clubs in
the weekly line up, these together with the FA Cup and Scottish Premier
League and England's home internationals create the backbone of a solid
football diet. The importance of football to the Africa marketplace is not
forgotten even in the European off season when Setanta Africa broadcast 34
live pre season matches.
Apart from the weekly
menu of football, Setanta Africa has now included many new and exciting
magazine programmes within the schedule. Golf, watersports, extreme sports,
motor sport, basketball, volleyball, equestrian sport are just a few of
these new inclusions and the Network has just concluded a deal with the
internationally renown boxing promoter Frank Warren to show monthly world
title boxing tournaments.
The association of the
Setanta Africa with Setanta Sports allows Africa to enjoy the tremendous
benefit of their buying power in the sports arena. This has also meant that
the terrestrial Broadcast Partners of Setanta Africa also enjoy these
advantages over their competitors within their own country.
Recently Setanta Africa
has been included in the GTV bouquet as a free to air sports channel and
this is proving to be a strong bond between pay and free television. GTV the
new DTH pay platform in Africa are fast becoming a leader in the African
sports and pay television marketplace with the purchasing of local Africa
football competitions and the association of Setanta Africa with GTV will in
the future bring a different dynamic for the non paying viewers who will be
able to see their favourite teams on both pay and free to air.
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